Les Amours Devouees
by quintessentialy
Summary: An engagement between Marinette and Adrien reveals Chat Noir's identity to Ladybug - how will she cope?
1. Chapter 1

Marinette parted from Alya in the park before sunset, trotting across the street and into her parent's bakery. A quick kiss to the cheek of _maman_ and one to _papa_ and she was headed upstairs.

She had a small habit of putting off her homework until the last minute – procrastination had become a close friend over the years between busy moments of fighting evil alongside Chat Noir and struggling to keep her cool around certain people (though one slightly-less-than-satisfactory grade was worth taking a moment to stare at Adrien during a lecture, she decided), and now she was bogged down with a project on Ancient Greece, a pack of Chemistry equations (of which she had absolutely _no idea_ how to do), and she didn't even want to think about all of the chapters she had to read in her French Lit book.

She sat down at her desk and placed her materials in front of her. Her history textbook, her French Literature book, and the Chemistry worksheets she dreaded. She decided to go with history first – it was, after all, her best subject – and tackle the Chemistry last.

And so she began.

An hour later she'd found herself distracted with a link Alya had texted her from her Ladyblog – Chat Noir saving a child's crêpe during a recent akuma attack – and then found herself watching another video, reading another blog post – "Marinette!" her mother called, and she sat the phone down and jogged downstairs.

After supper, she found herself in front of her desk once more. She had made no progress. And then – a text.

 _Hey, Marinette – have you started on the math homework? I can't figure out problem six._ From Adrien, which made her heart nearly burst. She tugged her homework out of her backpack and set it on the desk, scrambling to send him a text back.

 _Yep! Already done. Want some help?_ She asked. Breathless, she stared at her phone and waited for a reply.

 _Please! Can I video call you?_ He asked, and she felt her fingers go numb. Nearly dropping her phone, she replied a quick 'yes' and a moment later, her phone was ringing. She smoothed out her hair and answered the phone with shaky hands, propping it up against her wall.

"Marinette!" Adrien smiled, waving at her as soon as his image appeared, "I've been trying to figure out this problem for half an hour now – it's impossible, I swear." He said, and she rested her chin in her palm, elbow against her desk as she stared at him.

"It's not – _impossible_ \- really, it was just – um, it was a hard problem! But I'm sure I can help you figure it out." She grinned, fumbling with her pencil and looking down at her work, "Okay, what was your first step?"

"I divided sixteen by thirty-six –" He began, and she bit down on her lower lip. He was supposed to divide it by thirty-four, but she didn't have the heart to stop him as he continued to explain the steps he'd taken to solving the problem – to which he'd come out with a negative solution.

"You're actually – you're really supposed to divide by thirty-four," she replied, and he nodded quickly, erasing something on his paper, "try and see if that fixes it But it's a really common mistake! Really."

"Alright – hold on." He said, working silently for a moment. She tried not to stare at him – she tried to stare at anything _but_ him, but he was there and not really there but he _was_ there and whenever he was around she just couldn't focus. "Is it two-point-six-five?"

"Hm? Y-Yes! It is! Good job, Adrien." Marinette said, relishing in the way his face lit up.

"Thanks. Did you need help on any homework?" He asked her, and she glanced at the chemistry worksheets sitting at the corner of her desk. They glared at her, and she glared back at them for just a moment.

"Are you any good at Chem?" She asked him, and he paused for a moment before holding up his hand, tilting it.

"I'm pretty alright. What do you need help with?"

"That huge packet of worksheets –"

"Oh, shoot!" He gasped, pressing a hand over his mouth, "I completely forgot –"

"I did, too! Until today, anyways. I – I can't really tell if I forgot or if I just – er, choose to forget, you know?" She shrugged, and he chuckled at her.

"I know exactly what you mean – you are looking at the Prince of Procrastination." Adrien sighed, and Marinette smiled slightly. "I try to do most of my work on time – I just get distracted by other things."

"Like?" She asked, and then winced. "Sorry, not to be – nosy, or anything."

"No, no, it's fine! I fence a lot. More than usual." He lied, but Marinette nodded – between saving crêpes and fighting evil, and fencing practice (and having to entertain Chloe after school some days), he found his window of alone-time getting smaller and smaller.

"Ah. Well – we can work on them together." She suggested, biting down on the inside of her cheek, "N-Now. If you want. If that's okay." She said, and he shrugged before nodding.

"Sure. Let me get my chemistry book and the problems and we'll get started." Adrien smiled. Marinette pulled her worksheets in front of her, fumbled with her pencil. She glanced up at him as he shuffled through some papers on his desk.

"Marinette? Would you like a _chouquette?_ " Her mother asked through the door, knocking on it. Adrien looked up as Marinette scrambled to the door, opening it quickly.

" _Maman_ , I'm on the phone!"

"Oh? Is it Alya?" Her mother asked, peeping through the door, "Oh, hello Adrien!"

"Hello, Mrs. Dupein-Chang." He smiled, waving at her through the screen.

" _Maman!_ Please!" Marinette sighed, taking the small _chouquette_ from her mother and closing the door. Marinette walked back to the desk and set the napkin-wrapped pastry puff on top of her homework. "Sorry, Adrien."

"Your mother is sweet." Adrien replied, smiling at her, "What did she bring you?"

"A _chouquette._ My _papa_ makes them and they are the best in all of Paris." She sighed, inhaling the sweet scent of pastry before popping it into her mouth. She sighed once more, this time in bliss.

"I love _chouquettes!_ I don't get them often." Adrien said, pulling out his homework.

"I can bring you one tomorrow." Marinette offered quickly, mouth still full of pastry. She quickly chewed and swallowed, "Sorry – I – yeah." She yawned and stretched a bit.

"That'd be great." Adrien grinned at her, "It's more of an incentive for us to get this done."

"Oh, right. The chemistry sheets! Ready?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Yep! Okay, first problem – determine the molarity of a solution made by dissolving twenty grams of NaOH in sufficient water to yield…" Adrien began, and Marinette found her chin resting in her palm, elbow on her desk once again. This time she found herself drifting to sleep, soothed by the sound of Adrien's voice in the background – "Marinette?" Adrien said, staring at her sleeping figure. He couldn't help but chuckle as he stared at her.

He paused for a moment before ending the video call. He finished the worksheets by himself and sent her pictures of his work, along with a text. _Try to get more sleep tonight – you owe me a chouquette!_


	2. Chapter 2

Long chapters are a pain for me to write, so don't expect them from me - otherwise, enjoy!

* * *

"Chat Noir, you are the epitome of absolute ridiculousness." Ladybug said, staring at her friend from across the rooftop. He was holding a small basket, a plaid blanket laid over his arm. He flashed a large grin at her and took a few steps forward before bowing, setting the items on the ground. "What even is this?"

"A night-time picnic!" He smiled at her, spreading the blanket out and waving an arm towards it, "My lady – please sit and enjoy a delicate cheese and fruit selection with me under the stars."

Ladybug rolled her eyes but stepped forward, sitting down on the blanket and tucking her legs under her. He sat next to her, legs crossed, and opened the basket. He pulled from it a glass container of different cheeses, toothpicks, a bag of fruit – and what looked like a small bottle of champagne.

"Chat!" Ladybug gasped, pushing the bottle away, "That's illegal – and not to be an annoyance, but we are supposed to be role models."

"Bugaboo, it's cider!" He replied, turning the bottle to show her the label, "You certainly don't think I'm _that_ devious, do you?"

"I don't think you're devious at all." She replied, reaching for a peach from the bag, "You're the opposite of devious."

"What would that be?"

"Well – lawful good." She bit into the peach and sighed, wiping a bit of the juice from her chin, "Thanks, Chat. This is delicious."

"Anything for my princess." He smiled at her. She nearly choked on her peach, and she coughed and shook her head quickly.

"Do _not_ call me that. If I am any type of royalty, I'm the queen." She huffed, and Chat chuckled at her.

"Of course." He agreed, piercing a piece of cheese with a toothpick and popping it into his mouth. They ate in silence for a few moments; Ladybug scooted closer to him and then laid back, folding her hands across her stomach. "What do you think about?" He asked her suddenly, and she glanced over at him.

"My studies, the source of the akumas, my best friend." She said, closing her eyes for a moment, "All of the regular things."

"I don't think much about the akumas when I'm not Chat Noir." Chat replied, and she opened her eyes once more to look in his direction. "I don't know. My lives are really as separate as can be."

"The same is true for me." Ladybug replied, reaching over to pat his knee, "What do you think about as Chat?"

"You." He shot back, barely missing a beat. She groaned and he smiled, flashing his teeth at her. "I couldn't resist."

"You never can."

"Ladybug – do you ever think they'll stop? The akumas? I feel like – at this point, you know – it's – is it hopeless?" Chat asked, and Ladybug sat up quickly and turned to look at him.

"It's never hopeless." She replied firmly, pressing her palms against his arms. "We can't ever give up on Paris, Chat – this is our _home_. We just need to roll with the punches. Protect our families, our friends – it's all we can do. It is the thing that only we can do. It's our job." Chat was silent for a moment before Ladybug leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his cheek, quickly. He seemed stunned for a moment before pressing his fingers against his cheek, looking up at her.

When he looked at her like that, it seemed so familiar. She felt so warm inside. For a moment, she felt like she was the only thing that would ever matter to him (and for a moment, she was).

"Don't think anything of that." She smiled slightly, leaning back and laying against the cement of the rooftop once more, tucking her arms behind her head, "It was completely chaste. A thank-you for bringing the fruit. Peaches are one my favorites."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Chat seemed rendered speechless – _unusually_ speechless, though she tried not to mind. After a while, he spoke once more.

"What else, then? Besides studies, akumas, your best friend…" He asked, trying to build a conversation.

"Food. I love food. I grew up around food, with food – my parents own a bakery."

"That reminds me!" He said, shuffling through the picnic basket, "I nearly forgot - for dessert, I have a special treat – your friend Marinette brought me some _crouquettes_ this morning, and I saved us a couple. They are incredibly delicious."

"Oh?" Ladybug said, sitting up and turning to look at him. She furrowed her brow for a moment. She couldn't remember giving any _croquettes_ to Chat Noir – only – Adrien.

There are moments when Ladybug – or Marinette, even – has to stop what she's doing and stop feeling and think. Marinette is more easily overwhelmed than Ladybug, but even Ladybug has her moments – and this was one of them. Ladybug stared at Chat. His blonde hair, the way she felt when she stared at his eyes a bit too long. They were so green. So insanely bright, so – she felt dizzy.

"Chat." Ladybug reached a hand out to touch his arm. He turned and pressed a hand against her shoulder. The same warmth she always felt whenever Adrien did the same thing to her flooded her senses.

"Ladybug, are you alright?" Chat asked her, and she stared at him. "Was the peach bad? Ladybug?"

It all made sense now. The way she felt when she was near him. The sometimes feelings she had towards him – a comforting feeling when she was around Chat, and a nervous one around Adrien. She got the two confused sometimes, and when Adrien was in the room everything seemed easier and when Chat was around she had to worry about him – oh, god.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She had to stand up and move away, try to get herself out of the situation. He had no idea. She knew, and he had absolutely no idea – it felt like cheating, almost, at whatever game they were playing. Were they playing a game? The game where neither of them know who the other is, where anything can happen, where nothing has consequences – she yanked her yo-yo out of her belt and left the roof-top. He yelled after her, but she couldn't bring herself to look back.


	3. Chapter 3

"Marinette, are you okay?" Alya asked her friend quietly, glancing at her. They were listening to a grammar lecture, but Marinette couldn't seem any more disinterested – usually she took notes, but today her hands were pressed together, folded in her lap.

"I'm fine." She replied, casting her eyes down toward her empty desk for a moment before looking back up, "I don't feel well."

"Oh? I'm sorry. Maybe you should ask to go see the nurse." Alya suggested kindly, but her friend simply shook her head and they fell back into silence. Alya took notes during the lecture, reminding herself to later give them to Marinette.

She'd been quiet all morning, stuck in her own thoughts. Marinette could hardly look at Adrien – Chat Noir – _Adrien_ anymore. She didn't see him with stars in her eyes anymore – she saw him for the stupid puns and jokes he'd always made and the way he was always flirting with her, but never as Adrien. Did he know who she was? Why was Ladybug the only one worth his time of day? The questions were all crushing her slowly, and she was thankful when the lunch bell rang and she had bread and fruit to distract her from her thoughts.

"Marinette, you know you can talk to me. I would never judge you for any problem you have." Alya said, reaching for her lunch bag under the desk, "We can go somewhere quiet."

"I'm fine, Alya. Just – a bit of a headache. A bit of a stomachache. I probably ate some bad bread last night." Marinette replied, standing up and grabbing her bag.

"Do you want to go eat in the park?" Alya asked, biting down on her lip. "We don't have to talk."

Marinette considered it for a moment and opened her mouth to say 'no', but she closed it after a moment. She nodded.

The walk to the park was silent, not awkward. Alya and Marinette walked side-by-side at the same pace, their bags swinging from their hands. Marinette wanted so desperately to tell Alya all of her problems, everything she felt, all of the stress; but all of the stress came with rewards and costs, and the costs, Marinette was finding, nearly always outweighed the rewards.

They sat on a blanket in the park and Marinette at her bread and berries in silence. Alya did the same, pulling her notes out of her bag from the grammar lecture and handing them to Marinette. "You can copy these tonight and give 'em back tomorrow."

Marinette looked at the notes and then up at her friend, who was obviously trying not to ask any more questions. "Alya – thank you."

"You're welcome, girl. We all have our days." Alya shrugged, smiling at Marinette. "What are friends for?"

The question struck Marinette like a hard blow. She was Chat's best friend and would never be the same to Adrien – to Adrien she was just a peer, a classmate, someone to get homework help from. To Chat, she was the world. His love, he claimed, and she knew that if he found out who she was he would never feel the same. She could never feel the same. What would Alya do if she ever found out? – Marinette started to cry.

"Oh – oh, no." Alya sighed, shaking her head and pulling a tissue out of her bag, handing it to Marinette. She scooted closer to her and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Alya." Marinette sniffed, wiping her tears away with the tissue, "I'm not being a very good friend."

"Sometimes we can't talk about certain things. I understand, Mari. It's completely fine! Do you want to share a pastry with me? We can grab one on our way back to school." Alya suggested, pulling away from Marinette and smiling at her. "I'll buy."

Marinette giggled and nodded, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Alya, I do not deserve you as a friend."

"Oh, hush." Alya smiled, picking up her things.

* * *

Ladybug watched the pale butterfly disappear from her sight as Chat wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Good job, my lady!"

Ladybug frowned slightly and moved away from him, tucking her yo-yo back into her belt. "Thanks, Chat."

"Bugaboo, have I done something wrong?" He asked, crossing his arms and staring at the back of her head, "You've been avoiding me, I can tell."

"Chat, you haven't done anything wrong." Ladybug assured him, fixing one of her pigtails and glancing back at him. "I've just been – going through something. I'm not up for all of the hugs and flirting, alright?"

"Ladybug, you know you can tell me if something is wrong." He said, and Ladybug had to turn around to face him. For once, she thought, he was being completely serious. He even looked worried, and he took a few steps toward her and pressed his hands against her shoulders.

She wanted to melt into his touch like she always did with Adrien, but she couldn't. This was Chat. They were worlds apart, two completely different people, and Chat cared about Ladybug, not Marinette – and Adrien didn't care about either of them.

"Chat, really, I'm fine. Please." She sighed, moving his hands from her shoulders and forcing a small smile. "We saved the day. We can go home now."

"Or we can – you know, hang out? We still have a few minutes until we detransform."

"It's best I go."

"Please?" Chat pouted, reaching for her hand, "I have to show you this new technique I figured out when I'm jumping from building to building – you'll love it!"

"Chat, I need to go." Ladybug sighed, trying to pull her hand away. He squeezed her hand and pulled her toward him.

"Ladybug, please –"

"Adrien, stop!"

Chat stared at her, and Ladybug stared back. He dropped her hand and glanced away for a moment before looking back towards her. "How did you figure it out?"

"I'm sorry, Chat."

"This is unfair, you know. You know who I am and I don't know who you are." Chat replied without missing a beat, taking a step toward her, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, okay? I know who you are and this makes everything – so – complicated. You know it does! I'm so sorry, Chat, this has been chewing at me for days now –"

"Is that why you left so fast the other night? You had some random epiphany?" He asked, gazing at her, "Ladybug, this is our chance."

She shook her head quickly, pulling her yo-yo out of her belt. "I can't do this."

"What are you so scared of?" Chat asked her, wrapping a hand around her wrist, "Ladybug, I care about you no matter who you are."

"That's not true!" She cried out, yanking her wrist away, "I am - _nothing_ to you when I'm not Ladybug!"

"You can be something to me –"

"Oh my _god_ , Chat – you're in love with Ladybug. You love Ladybug. You love the red and black costume and the way I'm confident and the way that I know what I'm doing but just _me_ – this isn't _me!_ "

"And you think I'm completely the same when I'm Chat? As – As _Adrien_ I'm quiet and I can't be myself! I can't make jokes, I can't be carefree – you make it so easy to be _me_ , Ladybug." He watched as her earrings began to blink, "Your earrings –"

"I've got to go. Chat, I'll talk to you later, I just – I can't do this."

"Do I know you? As Adrien?" He asked, running after her as she bounded off the top of the building. She was gone before he could get an answer.


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette pulled the covers up to her chin and stared at her bedroom ceiling. Tikki snored on her shoulder, and had been for quite some time – but Marinette laid awake in her bedroom, mind racing against the confusing love triangle she realized she'd found herself in.

She had had a crush on Adrien for so long – so _long_ , but now it felt like she barely even knew him. It felt like she barely even knew Chat, too, who she'd considered one of her best friends in the entire world.

She couldn't feel the same about either of them. It felt weird to even try feeling the same about either of them.

But he still didn't know who she was, and it was tearing her up inside; what would Adrien do if he knew his lovely Ladybug was just Marinette? The concept of disappointing him with her identity made her want to cry all over again, but she'd run out of tears hours ago.

She rolled over in her bed, fingers clutching the sheets tightly as she tried to keep her breathing steady. _Don't upset yourself again_ ¸ she warned herself, _you know it's not worth it. Everyone will see your puffy eyes tomorrow at school and Alya will worry –_

And then a knocking, from her window. She willed herself not to move, to stay still – it was Chat Noir and she _knew_ it was Chat Noir, because who else would it be? Did he know? Did he figure it out? It would be easy enough – she looked like herself even dressed as Ladybug, and so did Adrien (she'd already chastised herself for not figuring it out sooner) – "Marinette!"

She sat up and Tikki yelped, ducking under Marinette's pillow. Marinette walked to the window and pushed it open, glaring at Chat Noir in the dark. "It's like three in the _morning_ , Chat! What in the world do you want?"

"I need to talk to you about Ladybug – she's worrying me!" He replied, pressing his back against her building. He stood on a thin ledge, looking down at her; he flashed her a toothy grin and pointed inside. "Please?"

She hesitated before shaking her head and sighing, moving out of the way – he was worried about her and him standing on that thin ledge made her nervous. She'd left him so frequently that she realized maybe he deserved her time of day – just for a minute, anyways.

"Thank you, Marinette." He sighed, slipping through the window and landing on her bedroom floor quietly. "Can I sit?"

"Sure." She replied, shutting the window and crossing her arms. He sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her; she stayed by the window, still.

"Can I have a croissant?" He asked quietly, and she rolled her eyes and walked towards him.

"No, Chat. I'm exhausted and I have school in the morning. I'm sure you have school, too, and that means we _both_ don't have time for this." She rambled, and he pressed his lips together in a line for a moment before sighing and looking up at her.

"Ladybug knows who I am and – she's been acting so odd lately. She keeps abandoning me and she won't talk to me and I'm so worried about her. I don't want her to think she can't trust me! I don't – I don't need to know who she is. I would love to, but that's – if she doesn't want to tell me, I don't need to know. I just want my Lady to be happy and she is not and I do not know what to do, Marinette. Have you talked to her? Has she said anything to you?" He rambled, and Marinette unfolded her arms and looked away, fidgeting with her hands.

She hadn't expected Chat to care so much – even if he was one of her best friends. Even if he was totally in love with Ladybug, which she knew he was (though she'd never _let_ him admit it). Marinette shook her head and glanced down at Chat.

"She hasn't said a word to me about any of that. I think you overestimated how close we are." Marinette replied, and Chat Noir stood up quickly and grabbed her shoulders firmly in his palms.

"Marinette, if she says anything to you – please tell me. I cannot stand to see her so upset."

"Of course." Marinette breathed, staring up at him. He enclosed her in a tight hug, and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before hugging him back, pressing her face into his shoulder.

She hadn't expected herself to miss the closeness of him, the warmth of his touch. He let go and she held on for just a moment longer before releasing him, immediately walking to the window and reopening it. He walked toward it and stopped in front of her, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of her palm. "Thank you, Marinette."

Her cheeks flushed and she saw him as Adrien, not Chat – gentle, serious, wonderful Adrien in a cat suit. He stepped out of the window and she waved to him, Adrien, as he stood atop the ledge. "Goodnight, Adrien!"

A slip of the tongue. The world stopped turning for a moment, and Chat turned to stare at Marinette as she stared at him.

The world resumed turning, and Adrien stared at Ladybug. She'd always left him hanging; always left him on the edge of his seat, wondering where she was going. She'd caused him to lose sleep, and in that moment, Chat felt nothing. He leapt from the edge of the building as Marinette yelled after him to wait and that she was sorry, but he felt nothing; nothing.

Marinette thought she was out of tears, but in a minute she found herself swimming in an ocean. She closed the window and sank to the ground. Tikki brought a tissue and whispered to her, nuzzling in her hair and trying desperately to comfort her.

Marinette knew, in these moments, her lie had been too big. She'd lied to him too much. She probably lost him forever.

Probably.


End file.
